The three research projects: 1) The Dispersive Electrode, 2) The Mechanism of Cutting and Coagulation and 3) Tissue Stimulation With Electrosurgical Current constitute a major effort to provide fundamental data regarding the mechanisms underlying cutting and coagulation with radiofrequency current. In addition the research is directed toward the development of safe dispersive electrodes and the determination whether cutting and coagulation can be achieved with the legally assigned 13.56 and 27.12 MHz frequencies. Special consideration will be given to identifying modulation waveforms for electrosurgical current to provide effective cutting and coagulation with a minimum tissue stimulation. This proposal is a re-submission of application 1-RO1-GM-23103-01 which described a much more extensive investigation of this subject. The present application is concerned only with the thermal and stimulating aspects of electrosurgical current.